19790910036839A

Accident · Destroyed

FAA accident report · Cessna 172 · Elkins, WV · September 10, 1979

Date
September 10, 1979 · 21:00 local
Place
Elkins, WV
Phase of flight
Unknown/Not Reported
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage
Destroyed
Aircraft
N80979
NTSB investigation
NTSBIAD79FA081
Reported as
Cessna 172
Fatal injuries
0
Pilot’s flight hours
2,450 total82 in this make and model0 in the last 90 days

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

Evidence indicates pilot lost control of acft at night from spatial disorientation. No ground lights in area.

As the FAA filed it

EVIDENCE INDICATES PILOT LOST CONTROL OF ACFT AT NIGHT FROM SPATIAL DISORIENTATION. NO GROUND LIGHTS IN AREA.

NTSB investigation

The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.